Community Corner
Strawberries, Sugar Plants and Sage from Skibbe Farms: Farmers Market Find
Stop by Skibbe Farms stand for fresh produce and herbs at the Orland Park farmer's market. Thank us later.
What do you get when you cross rich Michigan soil, years of farming experience and immense pride in a craft? Apparently, the result is amazing produce.
That is what we found at the Skibbe Farms stand last Friday at the Orland Park Farmers Market. Their table was packed with fresh strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, Michigan lettuce and Kohlrabi.
An herb table was also set up with rosemary, sage, Italian parsley chives, oregano, thyme, marjoram and basil. Just off to the side were rows of decorative flowers in hanging baskets.
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Mona Moore, an employee of Skibbe Farms, was running the stand with her daughter, Deanna. She said that to have the freshest produce to sell at the Orland Park farmer's market, she gets up at midnight with the rest of the farm employees to ready a bountiful selection of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.
According to Moore, the one product at this time of year that people love from Skibbe Farms is the strawberries. She offers samples of these famous strawberries at the stand and they sell themselves. The peaches are overwhelmingly the favorite, but are not available until the end of July. Moore said that people come by asking about the peaches because they remember them from years past and eagerly await their return.
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One interesting product we found at the stand was the stevia, or sugar plant. Moore suggested we taste the leaves of this plant, so we did and discovered that they had a sweet "sugary" flavor. She explained that the leaves can be steeped with tea to sweeten it in place of using sugar and is safe for diabetics.
Walt and Karen Skibbe own the Eau Claire, Michigan farm that has been in the family or over 80 years. All of the produce that they sell at the market is grown exclusively on their farm. Moore said that this sets them apart from other farm stands.
If you would like to sample some strawberries, sweeten your tea naturally or just pick up some really fresh produce, stop by the Skibbe Farms farm stand and see Mona and her daughter Deanna. You will be glad you did.
What:
When: Friday mornings, June 3rd through October 7th (except for Aug. 5), 7:30am to 1:00pm
Where: Village Center, 14700 Ravinia Avenue
